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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

What's Up Wednesday

I've been preparing my mind and attitude for the new school year so I've pushed aside most of my fictional books in favor of ones that are on homeschooling. I'm currently reading For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. Both of them are full of inspiration and ideas. I've been trying to read A Tale of Two Cities... We'll see how that goes. It takes a fair amount of concentration and my children don't allow for much of that!

I'm listening to The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and when my brain needs something a bit lighter I've been listening to Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. I love the first and am not far enough into the second to have formed an opinion.

My children and I just finished reading Mary Poppins by P.L.Travers and my five year old is begging me to read the sequel. I love that! We are now reading Misty of Chincoteague and I expect will finish it in a few days as my oldest son stares at me with wide eyes and begs me to read another chapter ever time we read it.

What I'm Writing

Do homeschool goals and lesson ideas count??? I'm craving a good, long writing session and now that I have most of my planning complete (until school starts and I need to make weekly plans anyway...) I'm hoping to indulge in one.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Lately I've been inspired by my homeschooling friends and all of their insight. I've also been very inspired by Schole Sisters. It is a new blog and though I tend to not be as classical in my teaching style most of the ideas and conversations are exactly the sort of things I've been craving. I love that it blends the classical styles with Charlotte Mason ideas.

What Else I've Been Up To

I recently discovered the show Fringe on Netflix. I may be a bit obsessed. It is the perfect break from planning, reading and organizing. I've also been crocheting again. I've missed it and it is the perfect thing to do while watching Fringe :)

What have you been up to? Do you have any read aloud suggestions? I'm always looking for great books to share with my kids!

Seeing as I home school too and know how much work goes into it, I say planning lessons definitely counts as writing! I've always taken a very eclectic approach and write a lot of my own curriculum, which is more fun and creative but also exhausting at times. I hope the planning is going well and that you're feeling ready for the new school year. I feel very behind in that department right now. Doesn't help that I just found out that two of our resources won't be delivered until the last week of August. Ugh. Anyway, I really hope you can treat yourself soon to that long writing session you're craving! Have a super week, Sarah!

I hope you're resources arrive early! It's not fun having to wait for things that you need. I've been getting more and more eclectic with my curriculum too. This is the first year I completely stepped away from a set one and pieced together my own. I agree that its exhausting. I am having fun with it though and I think it will be a better fit for my kids and their diverse learning styles. Oh and I can weave in all my favorite childhood books :)

It's a busy season in your life, but it won't last forever, and you will get back to your own writing rather than lesson writing, but even that is a form of training in writing.

It may sound strange, but when my two older ones were 11 and 9, they listened enraptured as i read The Time Machine and Journey to the Center of the Earth and other classics of that genre. They were thrilled when Phileas Fogg made it Around the World in 80 Days, and my daughter's observations about how humans had degraded in The Time Machine were beyond what i would have expected. They will always surprise you.

Eep, I tried to slog through A Tale of Two Cities last summer and *pants* it - was - exhausting. Like, I've done all Shakespeares and even they were a walk in the park compared to Dickens. I think his novels just require a lot of focus and a good memory, neither of which I possess :P

Mary Poppins sounds wonderful though, such a whimsical little tale - sounds like you have a couple of potential bookworms on your hands, Sarah ;) Have a great week!

Fringe is a ton of fun and definitely binge-worthy. You deserve a break from all that planning. I really admire people who home school their kids. All that effort and all that love definitely pays off. And hells yes, it counts!

I don't have kids, so I'm trying to home school my cat. It's going about as well as you'd expect. ;)

All books by Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton are perfect read alouds for kids (I know this from when I was a kid! They were my favourites, couldn't get enough). Other kids authors I enjoy are Paul Jennings and Margaret Clarke (really good Australian writers, definitely recommend).